The combined efforts of a Bergen County Police Department dispatcher and Pascack Valley police officers helped save a 52-year-old Westwood man on Monday evening after he dialed 911 saying he wanted to take his life.

On Aug. 12 at 5:40 p.m., Westwood Police Department fielded a call from the county's Mahwah-based dispatch center reporting that one of their dispatchers was on the phone with a man who said "he was sitting on the porch of his... home with a loaded gun and planned to kill himself," according to Police Chief Frank Regino.

Officers from Westwood, along with back-up from Hillsdale and River Vale, were immediately deployed to the home while the dispatcher, Cindy Siedel, kept the man on the line, Regino said.

"After a few minutes of talking to him, she realized she knew him. Previously, she'd been a dispatcher in Closter, so she recognized him from some type of interactions there," the chief explained. "She was able to calmly talk him into putting the weapon down and he came out with his hands up after about 15 minutes."

The man, who Regino noted was "apparently intoxicated" and "depressed," was transported to Bergen Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Siedel's performance "was exceptional and her actions kept the situation from getting worse," Regino said Wednesday morning. "I'll be writing a letter to County Police Chief Brian Higgins to thank him and his department for their professionalism."

He added, "The officers who responded showed incredible restraint when they took up positions close to the house considering he was sitting on the porch holding a handgun. A situation like that can escalate in a heartbeat. As a result, there were no injuries to the man or officers, and the event ended on a positive note."

Further investigation revealed the man had about 20 guns inside of his home, a couple of which were World War II-era guns, Regino said. The cache was a combination of handguns and rifles, as well as ammunition, he added.

No weapons charges have been filed as Westwood police detectives are currently tracing the guns to determined if everything is properly registered to the man.